Eldos people not all gangsters, Cele

Police Minister Bheki Cele should not have been surprised by the hostile reception he got from residents of Eldorado Park yesterday when he went to offer his condolences to the family of 16-year-old Nathaniel Julies, who was allegedly gunned down by cops this week.

The community is angry for a number of reasons. Nathaniel, known fondly as “Lokkie”, had Down syndrome and also difficulty in communicating with people. He was unarmed and was not a gang member, yet he was shot. They are angry because Gauteng premier David Makhura has already tried to dismiss the death of the innocent boy as the result of “crossfire” in a shoot-out between cops and gangsters.

But, much more than that, the people of Eldos are angry at the way they get treated by authority, which seems to regard them all as low-life gang members. That attitude means whenever the cops go there, it is with a preconceived opinion and attitude. When you expect gangsters around every corner, that’s what you find.

Although crime and social disintegration are problems in the area so, too, is police corruption and violence and lack of respect for human rights. There should be no second- or third-class citizens in a democratic South Africa.

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